In recent years, the media has discussed movements such as "me too" to bring awareness to the millions of women who have suffered through sexual violence and harassment. Although this particular movement is quite new, violence against women, as a whole, has been a problem many people had to deal with for centuries. In 2015, Canada's Premier Kathleen Wynne came out with an Action Plan that explains sexual violence and harassment and what policies will be implemented to end violence against women. Although, this is a step in the right direction there are many holes in the plan. She failed to mention the patriarchy she also how this plan will help people with disabilities and the LGBTQ+ community.
Introduction
Violence against women is one
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It has often been tied to sexism, which as often ignored millions of women seeking help. An example of this would include The Persons Case in Canada in 1929. Prior to this case woman were not considered persons and hence no laws indicated domestic violence as prohibited. In the text, Rape Law Reform in Canada, Kwong-leung Tang explains that, historically, the "patriarchal basis of marriage was protected when husbands had unlimited sexual access to their wives." (Tang, 259) Women were seen as property rather than people, which allowed sexual violence to go unrecognised. Women in the past tried to combat this by organizing the Temperance movement, in the late 1870s, that "identified family violence as directly related to alcohol consumption, bringing the issue of family violence into public awareness." (Stoddart, Web) Although this didn't solve the issue of violence against women, the movement allowed women to voice their concerns with the public, allowing there to be a discussion about violence against …show more content…
(Htun and Weldon, 552) This is a problem because, in the past, violence against women has never been a priority that the government acknowledged and has often neglected to discuss the topic completely. Htun and Weldon further explain that many government organizations "fail to address VAW, even though women are clearly part of the group they are representing… they fail to see it as important." She further explains that human rights groups did not recognise violence against women as a violation of women's rights until they were pressured by feminists to do so in the 1990s.
In the past conversations about sexual violence has shifted and because of this more people are open for discussion about the issue. For example, the "Me Too" movement started by Tarana Burke as a grassroots organization in 2007 to help women of colour who are victims of sexual assault and harassment (Gilmore, 1) Since then it has become a social media hashtag that "has been shared by 12 million Facebook users," allowing people to speak up about their experiences with sexual harassment and violence and representing the power of
National data gives us an indication of the severity of this issue. When 1 in 5-woman report being victims of severe physical violence (NISVS, 2010), we must ask ourselves if enough is being done to prevent this from occurring. From a historical point, there has always almost been a distinction from men on woman violence. Based on the disparity of cases reported, male inflicted violence on females is much higher and prevalent. When the perpetrators of DV, and IPV are predominately males, we can no longer dismissed this issue as a cultural, or
"Violence against women-it's a men's issue." Jackson Katz:. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. .
Women’s issues are a huge concern to me as I transition into the adult world, especially when sexual assaults are associated with the college culture. From the streets of America to a child bride in Africa, women are suffering from abuse, harassment, and mistreatment. The feminist movement has enhanced life for women, but, in modern society, there are many areas that still need improvement. If we want to resolve issues over the treatment of women, we must tackle and overcome negative views of women, take preventive measures to ensure the safety of women, and bring attention to these injustices.
Violence has become prevalent within society; it is something the western world has learned to accept. With every minute that passes Canadians come face to face with certain acts of violence they may not have previously encountered (citation). Although, violence is not a subject that one can escape, women and children have unfortunately become the prime victims of violent acts. The media glorifies violence in other countries around the world it fails to address the presence of violence within Canada. Although violence is usually associated with gangs and guns, Canada experiences more violence related to bullying, sexual, verbal, cyber and domestic abuse (citation). Amidst the changing societal views towards treating women equally and eliminating objectification, of all these types of violence and abuse in our society, the most common still happens to be domestic abuse, which is mainly targeted at women and affects children. Domestic abuse is described as a form of abuse that takes place in the confines of the household (Citation). Though 51% of Canadians have said to have experienced or witnessed domestic abuse only 20% of those cases related to domestic violence are ever reported (citation). Domestic abuse has become more prevalent in modern society; however, it is an issue that is left un-noticed simply because its effects are invisible outside the walls of ones home. In reality the effects of domestic violence have severe negative effects on women, children and the social structure of today’s society. Without any notification of domestic violence the re precautions of this abuse can be dire. When an individual thinks of domestic abuse, their ideas quickly relate back to women, simply because women are the usual and most common victims of domestic violence. And therefore is an issue that must be resolved rather than ignored.
Intimate partner violence has been a significant issue for centuries in all countries. "Since 1974, nearly 2,600 spousal homicides have been recorded in Canada" (Bunge, 2002). Of these homicides, more than three-quarters have been against women. Although through feminism and the women's liberation movement, there has been a slight improvement in the incidences of violence against women, there has also been a drastic change in the perception of the issue by society. After reviewing the most recent literature on violence against women and victimization through intimate partners, it has become prevalent that there are now two crucial stances that are taken. The first position is that of the women being victimized as the main issue, including prevention, causes and incidences. The second position is that of women becoming more 'aggressive' and the issue of violence against both men and women. "Wife battering- the original problem constituted by the 1970s feminists- has morphed into 'domestic violence' and then into 'husband abuse'" (Minaker, 2006). This literature review will examine the background information on intimate partner violence including different arguments and perspectives, theories, and methodologies as well as discuss the major findings and future directions of research.
Gender-based violence has been recognized as a large public health problem as well as a violation of human rights worldwide. One out of three women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or abused in another way at least once in her life (www.infoforhealth.org). The abuser is usually a member of the family, introducing the difficult problem in that the abuse usually happens behind closed doors, and is often viewed by cultural norms and legal systems as a family matter rather than a crime.
As you can see, there are many changes being brought about in the 1990’s to reform the way women are treated and looked upon in a sexist world society ruled by men. Although these groups and individuals have not yet reached their final goal of equality for all, they have got the message out that this is unacceptable. Nothing happens overnight, there are many steps to reform and these groups are on the right path. They are starting to get societies to see that women are human too and they should be treated as equal.
As can been seen when looking at the issue of intimate partner violence, both historically and more recent, much of intimate partner violence is gendered, meaning that men are normally the perpetrators of violence (Hattery and Smith 2017). For this reason, the feminist theory is one of the few middle range theories used to examine intimate partner violence (Hattery and Smith 2017). The assumption of the feminist theory is that patriarchy undergirds everything in human society and allows for the abuse and oppression of women through inequality of power and privilege (Hattery and Smith 2017). Patriarchy shapes individual power within the household, playing on culturally gendered norms and expectations, and institutional power, such as the criminal justice system; the main structures of society (Hattery and Smith 2017). For this reason, this theory focuses on the structural nature of the issue rather than the individual nature of intimate partner violence (Hattery and Smith 2017). Distribution of power allows male partners to abuse their partners and “get away” with it if the injury is not physically visible, or life threatening, it is not considered criminal. Most times the perpetrator of violence does is not prosecuted, whether it be underreporting or lack of follow-through by either the victim or the court system (Hattery and Smith 2017). Feminist theory proposes dismantling patriarchy, or at least the reform the way that intimate partner violence is handled by the court system through accountability (Hattery and Smith 2017). The largest flaw in the feminist theory is that it is said to not address “exceptions to the rule” which are cases where the female partner is the perpetrator; and fails to address violence seen in the LBGTQ community (Hattery and Smith 2017). The assertion that the feminist theory does not adequately explain violence in the LBGTQ community is short sighted. As with any heterosexual relationship, a homosexual relationship,
During the 1980s and 1900s, domestic violence was one of the most unreported crimes that involve females and males getting hurt and dying. Kicking, choking, killing, and saying brutal or despise words that could hurt the victims physically or emotionally are considered domestic violence. In fact, many victims are afraid to seek for help. According to “The Domestic Violence Resource Center (DVRC), women account for approximately 85 percent of all intimate partner violence, with women aged 20-24 at greater risk” (Batten, par.16). Most pregnant women are at risk as well. “But underlying approach is still one that assumes the perpetrators are men and the victims are woman” (Haugen, par. 1). Moreover, both males and females believe that domestic violence is a solution to their issues.
In the single year of 2009, there were 460,000 reported incidents of sexual assault against women in Canada (“Criminal Victimization in Canada” 1). Amnesty International once stated that aggression against women “is so deeply embedded in society that it often fails to garner public censure and outrage.” This is evidenced by the fact that only roughly 10% of all sexual assaults are revealed, and to exacerbate the circumstances, women are frequently repudiated, blamed, and dispensed apathetic or cruel manipulation (“Violence Against Women Information” 1). Women’s rights are constantly defiled through domestic violence, and yet it is still abounding and ubiquitous in developed countries. Indeed, every six days, a woman in Canada is brutally killed by the one whom she considered her loving male partner. With every year that passes, approximately 362,000 children are witness to violent parental episodes in Canada. Witnessing violence can disturb the development of children and can eventuate in
One of the most important human rights issues facing Canadians today is the high rate of sexual assault against women. Sexual assault against women acts as a barrier to gender equality and stands in the way of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Sexual assault can be any unwanted physical contact or menacing of a sexual nature or in a sexual situation, done intentionally or recklessly without permission. It includes attempts and threats of unwanted sexual contact. Sexual assault can cover actions range from kissing or sexual touching to sexual act. Sexual assault is a criminal offense even though the victim does not have any physical injuries. Sexual assault in Canada is gendered and socially-patterned. Women are more likely to experience
Violence against women has been occurring throughout society since the dawn of time. It is hard for the law to stop it going on because the women are either to scared to come forward or the women feel it is their fault so they deserve the beating. This sort of violence is predominately in homes and between families. In many ways it would be quite hard for the legal system to stop it because not a lot of people know that it is going on. However the legal system has done some work to stop violence against women.
United Nation (1993) Declaration on the elimination of violence against women: proceedings from the United Nation world conference on Human Rights G.A. res. 48/104, 48 GAOR Supp.(No. 49) at 217, Doc. A/48/49.https://www.unfpa.org/swp/2005/english/notes/page3.htm Accessed on April 2014
The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women defines gender-based violence (GBV) as, “Any act…that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.” It is also broadly defined as any harm to a person due to the power disparities caused by gender inequality. Gender based violence includes childhood sexual abuse, “prenatal sex selection in favor of boys, female infanticide, dowry deaths, honors killings ,female genital mutilation, trafficking and forced prostitution, forced early marriage, sexual assault and intimate partner violence”
Violence against women (VAW) is now considered and recognized as a public health predicament and a human rights infringement of a worldwide scale and force (Ono, 2013; Raj & Silverman, 2002). Research evidence exists for it serving as a crucial social determinant of health and its resulting vast and damaging impact on physical and mental health for women in Canada (Sharma, 2001). Violence as a concept includes diverse forms of abuse that are directed at women and girls across their lifetime. One critical category or form of violence against women is domestic violence. For the purpose of this paper terms violence against women and domestic violence will be used interchangeably. Domestic violence has been recognized as a critical social problem